NEDERLAND - On Tuesday, November 19, 2014, the Nederland Board of Trustees (BOT) began exploring the next steps in the process of pursuing the acquisition of the Eldora ski area. The prospect has been in the works for several weeks and was made public in The Mountain-Ear on Thursday, November 14. 

Mayor Billy Giblin stated in an official Agenda Information Memorandum that the Town is “exploring next steps to build our team and our capital to purchase the resort. It is still unknown what any potential deal may look like. Any progress will be brought to the Board for consideration.”

BOT members discussed what they felt were pertinent concerns. As for why POWDR is selling the Eldora ski area, Giblin said that POWDR is investing in different types of recreational opportunities in the national parks sector, which is lower risk but higher profit for the conglomerate.  

As for why the Town is considering the acquisition, Town Administrator Jonathan Cain reiterated that Nederland must begin to build resiliency into its budget as expenditures have been cut to their limit and the Town is struggling to collect the revenue it requires to remain stable. 

The hope is to “lean on the expertise of our community” in order to make Eldora a recreational resource for Nederland that can create more funding for Town departments and for quality-of-life infrastructure improvements, so that the townspeople can expect more than just the “bare minimum.”

Cain also explained that, now that the plan has been made public, feedback can be gathered and community support can be ascertained; the next steps would include entering into a Non-Disclosure Agreement with POWDR in order for financial analysis of the ski area’s profitability to be completed. 

Since the announcement the Town has been gathering constructive feedback from the community regarding the proposed acquisition. The agenda item garnered more than a few letters of support from locals, as well as two letters against the proposal.

Many more residents provided comments either in person or online during the meeting. Much to the surprise of the Board, all public comments made during the meeting were in support of the Town’s plan.

In addition to concerns raised about use of the mountain year round, more than one member of the community spoke to the issue of how the Town will navigate private partnerships to purchase the mountain, and how assurance can be made that those partners will have Nederland’s best interests at heart. 

Mayor Pro Tem Nichole Sterling was adamant that the Town will weight those partnerships based on how their interests and values align with Nederland’s, on whether they understand mountain communities, and on what kind of growth they will be expecting. 

Cain fielded one question from the public pertaining to how the revenue from Eldora will flow into the Town’s general fund, explaining that an Enterprise Fund would most likely be created, and that the process of how the Board allocates those funds into other coffers will be a public process with public hearings.    

Trustees ended the discussion by stating that they will be moving forward with the proposed acquisition. Cain added that he will continue to track the community conversation. He made himself available to hear all constructive feedback regarding this plan.

To submit an email to the Board of Trustees, go to: https://townofnederland.colorado.gov/contact-a-board-or-commission

To submit an email directly to Town Administrator Cain, his address is TownAdmin@nederlandco.org. 

 The Board had met on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, to continue discussing their 2025 Town Budget, specifically whether to hire a new Parks Department employee and whether to accept less law enforcement coverage from Boulder County Sheriff’s Office in order to save money on their 2025 contract. 

Trustees were made aware of increases to the Town’s water and sewer rates resulting from the previous rate study. Based on inflation, the Town’s sewer rates were increased by 4% and water rates were increased by 5%. 

Trustee Tania Corvalan asked to see how Nederland’s rates compare to neighboring municipalities, stating that the Town’s high rates are not attractive to new businesses and contractors. 

Utilities Department Manager Andrew Bliss spoke to Trustees regarding the decrease in capital improvement projects funding from the Town’s Water fund. An allocated $250,000 for water distribution improvements was brought down to $50,000 in 2025 for design and construction, with grant funding to be pursued for further development. 

Bliss also completed research on the potential revenue the Town could generate from implementing a Bulk Water Fill Station, stating that Idaho Springs, charging $20 per 1,000 gallons, sees a five-year return of $100,000. 

The Nederland Community Center requested a pass for veterans to receive discounted rates on services. The center recommends charging veterans and serving military members $5 for drop-in visits, $38 for the punch card, $28 for a monthly membership, $84 for the three-month prepaid membership, and $308 for the annual membership. 

The Board approved Resolution 2024-39, “delegating authority to the mayor to execute a legal services agreement with Aaron Ladd” for water law services. The decision to continue working with Ladd was required in order for the cost of services to be allocated in the 2025 budget.

Also during that November 12 meeting, Trustees were faced with providing the Town Administrator answers on three separate issues affecting the Town’s deficit going into 2025. 

The first issue was indicated by Sterling, regarding the Visitors Center operating at a loss of $41,000. Cain specified that the Visitors Center has experienced staffing problems throughout 2024, and that the projected revenue for the year was not met.

The BOT discussed the possibility of shuttering the building in 2025; Town Treasurer Rita Six noted that the Town would save $44,600 if it were to shut the business down.

Corvalan called the prospect of the Visitors Center being temporarily closed “depressing,” and questioned whether the Town could lease the space to a local business owner who could turn a profit, or to allow vendors to sell their goods out of the center in exchange for working the desk and assisting visitors.

Cain stated that more research was required to determine whether the space can be leased. 

The consensus among the Board was to research options to avoid shutting the business down, including reaching out to the Nederland Downtown Development Authority (NDDA) about the possibility of sharing the fiscal responsibility for the space. 

The NDDA’s 2025 budget was the second issue. The BOT directed Cain to address the possibility of the Authority using a portion of their $75,000 Beautification budget to hire a full-time Parks Department employee instead of two temporary part-time employees for trash removal services in the downtown area during the summer.

The Parks Department lost longtime employee Brian Biggs to a transfer to the Utilities Department; its current staff of two employees and Department Manager Nicki Dunn are already risking burnout, with most of them working six days straight during the most recent continuous snowfall to hit the Town. 

The Town has the necessary third position on the Parks Department already budgeted in 2024 for $50,000+ when including health and retirement benefits. However, the deficit going into 2025 has the Board feeling unsure about giving Dunn the green light to begin accepting applications. 

This discussion prompted Sterling to ask for assurance that the Authority is coming before the Board with Resolutions to be approved in order to authorize the use of the funding on such capital improvement projects. 

Six indicated that the NDDA had come to the BOT in 2023 regarding approval of the use of funds for the Beautification project. However, there is no record of the NDDA seeking the same approval in 2024. 

When the Board questioned whether this procedure was included in the NDDA’s Bylaws, Cain stated that the Authority has been operating under bylaws that, although updated, have not been approved by the BOT. 

The third issue for the Board’s direction was in regard to the law enforcement contract with Boulder County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO), particularly the level of service being provided. 

Trustees were mostly in agreement to keep coverage at 100%, and to include extra duty traffic enforcement on top of the contract in order to collect some revenue from tickets. Trustee Kristopher Larsen gave the sole vote for decreasing the amount of coverage down to 50%, and to use the “savings” from the contract amount to begin the process of hiring a Marshal as the first step towards rebuilding the Nederland Police Department. 

The Board’s attitude regarding law enforcement coverage had changed when the discussion of the 2025 Town Budget continued during the November 19 meeting, as the focus of the discussion was aimed at reducing the General Fund deficit of roughly $600,000.

Trustees were asked to consider how much extra duty law enforcement coverage the Town should budget for in 2025, whether to continue budgeting for consultant services from former Town Administrator Miranda Fisher, whether not to budget an additional $1,500 in funding for the Nederland Food Pantry (NFP), and whether to stage the payback of the matching funds for the Big Springs Egress project over two years.  

Cain also specified that BCSO were requiring an answer as to whether their 2025 contract with the Town of Nederland for law enforcement will be for 100% coverage or 50%. 

Cain and Six provided Trustees with the option of going down to 50% coverage while scheduling double the amount of extra duty traffic enforcement from BCSO to mitigate the cost of the contract with additional revenue from ticketing. It was also indicated that the extra duty deputies will not just provide traffic enforcement, as they will respond to urgent calls. 

The Board approved 50% law enforcement coverage and double the amount of extra duty traffic enforcement, and requested that Town staff research the costs of hiring a Marshal and rebuilding the Nederland Police Department, for further discussion in 2025. 

Approval was also given for the Town continuing to budget for consultant services from Fisher (after Cain noted that her knowledge of recent legal matters will continue to be helpful in 2025), and for budgeting an extra $1,500 for the NFP.

Trustees also supported Cain in his suggestion to split the payments of matching funds that the Town owes the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The grant was awarded to Nederland to fund the designs for an emergency egress route out of the Big Springs neighborhood. 

Town staff would need to request from FEMA an extension of one year, which would require Nederland to have to pay back only $73,000 in matching funds in 2025. 

It was clarified that a single route will be designed in 2025, followed by a public engagement process, and that a secondary route can be planned and designed in 2026. FEMA would also need to approve construction of the first route in order to be able to begin while designing the secondary route is still in progress.   

The Board tentatively planned to have a joint work session with the NDDA in the first quarter of 2025, possibly in January, at which they hope to receive clarification on the Authority’s budgetary process, their bylaws, and on the role of the BOT liaison.

The proposal for the NDDA to cover the cost of a full-time employee will be discussed during this work session, as will the proposal for splitting the fiscal responsibility of the Visitors Center. 

In the meantime, the Board approved Dunn beginning the hiring process for a third employee. 

Town Clerk Macy Caligaris presented Ordinance 870, which includes proposed amendments to Nederland Municipal Code (NMC) to clear up discrepancies found within Chapter 6 related to business licenses and regulations, including late fees for license renewals as indicated in the Fee Schedule. 

These amendments also aim to create a new Article within NMC pertaining to contractor licensing and related requirements of accountability and compliance, and aim to change “business licensing requirements for certain retailers to simplify sales tax compliance on remote retailers.” 

Trustees voted to approve Ordinance 870. 

Utilities Department Manager Bliss addressed the Board regarding upgrading Nederland’s 871 Zenner water meters to meters by Badger, which utilize a cellular-based reading system. The different reading system would save the Town money in the long term as the installation and ongoing maintenance of radio antennas would no longer be required. 

According to the Agenda Information Memorandum prepared by Bliss, “the Badger meter system allows residents and businesses to monitor their water usage on demand via an app called Eye on Water. Utilities such as Denver Water, Silverthorne, Aurora, Boulder, Broomfield, and Greeley have all implemented Badger meter infrastructure.”

Bliss also noted that the Town can continue to bill residents using readings from both Zenner and Badger water meters. The Utilities Department plans to install 100 meters and meter readers each year until all 871 current Zenner meters are replaced. They will begin by prioritizing those meters that no longer send readings. 

Trustees agreed to upgrade to Badger water meter infrastructure. 

The Nederland Board of Trustees meets on the first and third Tuesday of every month. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, December 3, 2024, at 7 p.m. and can be attended either online or in person at the Nederland Community Center. 

For more information go to: https://townofnederland.colorado.gov/board-of-trustees.